Telephone customers can be seriously inconvenienced by receiving many wrong-number calls if their assigned directory number is similar to a number that, for one reason or another, is frequently dialed incorrectly. For example, the customer number may differ from that of a popular business establishment or radio station by having one different digit or by being included in a different area code. Of course, the inconvenienced customer may request that a new number be assigned by the local telephone company. However, this option is often undesirable because of cost and inconvenience to both the customer and the telephone company. Moreover, the customer may desire to retain the number, for example in the case of a business that has maintained the same widely known and remembered directory number for a period of years.
In view of the foregoing, a recognized problem in the art is the inconvenience suffered by telephone customers that receive many wrong-number calls.